NEW INC Hits Hard At SPRING/BREAK Art Show

With another year comes another Armory Arts Week, a special weekend affair that finds New Yorkers and international fair-goers alike chasing trends, inspiration, and, of course, the occasional selfie opp all across town. This year, NEW INC is calling attention to its many members, both current and graduated, who are presenting new projects.

From The Armory Show to Independent, the NEW INC network has a hand in just about every fair on the circuit. But SPRING/BREAK's sixth edition is where our artists really shine, as the theme this year is centered around black mirrors. And like the Netflix series it takes curatorial inspiration from, few others are as well-equipped to imagine the harrowing and limitless possibilities of art and technology than our own.

Tonight, March 2, musician and experimental artist Jojo Abot will be taking a break from her tour with Lauryn Hill to perform FYFYA WOTO - Power.To.The.God.Within at the Sanctuary. According to the event page, the night's full program starts at 8 PM. Guests are invited to pay as they wish.

As part of an Armory Show discussion series on art collecting, Rhizome's artistic director Michael Connor will be joining artist Tabor Robak, collectors Pamela and Richard Kramlich, and co-founder of M WOODS Museum Michael Xufu Huang, among other experts, to weigh in on the future of digital art. The conversation is presented byAthena Art Finance, and promises to address 'art, technology, preservation, and posterity.'

The new media arts nonprofit recently announced the winners of their coveted Annual Prix Net Art, which they revealed will be awarded to game designer Porpentine Charity Heartscape, artist duo Eva & Franco Mattes, and conceptual artist Bogosi Sekhukhuni.

In what artnet News described as an "utterly unexpected...restorative experience," artist Ray Lee's NDD Immersion Room (2016), which was curated by NEW INC's own Amani Olu, invites viewers to surrender their technology at the door and step into a "treatment" center that remedies “Nature Deficit Disorder." The project even awards its guests with a signed certificate of completion.

Current NEW INC artists Andrea Wolf and Karolina Ziulkoski are delivering what the Observer dubbedas the "most relevant and Black Mirror-like experience" at SPRING/BREAK this year. In the case of an edition that's thematically curated around the eponymous Netflix show, that's no small honor.

Artist Jonathan Rosen's exhibition, "I'll Be Happy When," is as big of a hit with the crowd as it is with its critics. The show, which was curated by Wallplay's Alessandra De Benedetti, appeared in the Gothamist's roundup on the best of SPRING/BREAK, and has garnered north of five hundred dedicated posts on Instagram since the fair opened, featuring fair-goers, atop a smiley face platform, taking selfies as the screen flashes various declarations.

NEW INC member Niio is setting its sights on becoming the leading provider for digital art--and with deals secured at both NADA and Moving Image New York this year, they're well on their way. Niio will be hosting a champagne breakfast on Friday, March 3 at NADA for the Russian artist collective known as AES+F, whose video work, embedded above, will be on view at TRANSFER Gallery's booth using the Cloud service.

The project is titled "Contemporary Drag," and features other ventures that include performances, video screenings, and a selection of books. Interested collectors can pick up the artist editions at the NADA Shop in the lobby, or at Print All Over Me's website.